Serbia - Mr Franck Riester’s visit to Belgrade (26 November 2020)

Mr Franck Riester, Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Economic Attractiveness, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is in Serbia. The visit builds on President Macron’s in July 2019 and on the Sofia summit of 10 November 2020, which signalled the dynamism of our cooperation at the bilateral and regional levels. The Minister Delegate will be received by Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, and will speak to Sinisa Mali, Minister of Finance. He will also meet the French business community in Serbia.

Franck Riester will sign an agreement between our two governments on the development of strategic economic projects between our two countries, in the areas of transport and energy in particular. The agreement confirms France’s commitment to financing projects and endorses the choice of using French companies to carry out the first phase of the Belgrade metro project, a symbolic, strategic project for Belgrade’s modernization and city planning and the development of the whole of Serbia, and the automatic running of Serbia’s electricity distribution network.

The development of economic cooperation between our two countries reflects the excellent bilateral relationship and our businesses’ confidence in the potential of Serbia’s economy. Our economic and trade relationship is dynamic, with over €1 billion-worth of trade in 2019 and a constantly growing stock of investments. France is Serbia’s sixth-biggest trading partner and seventh-biggest foreign investor in terms of flows.

In the framework of these meetings, the Minister Delegate will reiterate France’s support for the prospect of a future for Serbia in Europe and its desire to make progress towards membership by implementing the necessary reforms.